World Cup: An Elusive Dream for Nepal

Every football fan hopes to see their country compete in the World Cup Finals. Regrettably, only 32 countries are assured a spot in the FIFA World Cup final stages. To participate in the finals, all 211 member countries of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) must first go through different stages of qualifying.

Nepali football supporters want their country to compete in the World Cup as well. Nepal, on the other hand, is still a long way from qualifying for the World Cup Finals. With just four spots available among Asian Football Confederation (AFC) teams, Nepal will need a superhuman effort to reach the World Cup finals.

Distant Hope

Furthermore, the little investment in Nepali football development makes it evident that qualifying for the World Cup remains a faraway goal. Nepali football has so far sought to dethrone India in the South Asian Football Federation's regional event.

Nepal lacks a long-term road plan in its football development efforts, which might have guided the national squad progressively from the Asian Cup to the World Cup. To do this, the country's football governing body, the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), must spend considerably in both planning and infrastructure. It would be unfair to expect too much from ANFA, considering the country's football governing body's failure to construct a regular football schedule throughout the years.

Asian teams had to go through an arduous three-stage selection procedure for the World Cup. Nepal, being an AFC member, is also eligible to engage in World Cup qualifiers. Nepal has participated in eight World Cup qualifiers. Nepal first competed in World Cup qualification in 1986. The national team also competed in qualifiers in 1990, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022.

Nepal let up eleven goals in its first qualifier. 

The second appearance was for the World Cup in Italy in 1990. In all, 28 goals were surrendered throughout the qualifications. 

In 1994, Nepal missed the qualifications. 

Hari Khadka and Deepak Amatya scored Nepal's first two goals against Macau in the 1998 World Cup qualifier. During the 2002 qualifications, off-field issues dominated Nepali football. Despite the presence of two football organisations, Nepali football has been declining due to the lack of local competitions. 

The controversy also denied Nepal the chance to host the Group 6 qualifiers on home soil. Nepal received a last-minute confirmation for the World Cup qualifiers, which were to be held in Asia for the first time. Despite all odds, Nepal defeated Macau 4-1 in the opening leg of the qualifications to claim its first win. Nepal also trounced Macau comfortably in the second match, winning 6-1.

Nirajan Rayamajhi etched his name in gold in Nepali football history by scoring seven times in the 2002 qualifiers.

His treble against Macau in the second leg made him the first Nepali player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup qualifier. He also scored twice against Macau in the opening leg. The leading scorer for Nepal was also on target during Iraq's 9-1 and 4-2 defeats in both matches.

Hari Khadka and Basant Thapa both scored twice. Balgopal Maharjan and Deepak Lama also scored for Nepal in the qualifications in 2002.

Rayamajhi has the most goals in Nepal, with 13. In second position, Hari Khadka and Anjan Bista are three goals behind him.

ANFA chose not to participate in the 2006 World Cup qualifications, blaming the financial crisis and the poor performance of the Nepali squad. Nepal's World Cup qualifying campaign concluded in a goalless first round exit during 2010 qualification.

Nepal, on the other hand, put an end to its previous performance and proceeded to the second round of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers. Nepal advanced through the first round for the first time after defeating East Timor 2-1 and 5-0 at home.

Strong Opponents

Nepal's journey was anticipated to finish in the second round after being pitted against one of the most powerful Asian opponents, Jordan. 

Jordan taught Nepal a lesson in football with a 9-0 thrashing in an away encounter in Amman. Nepali players gave everything to keep Jordan to a 1-1 stalemate in the opening leg at Dasarath Stadium, which was packed to capacity. Bharat Khawas scored an equaliser.

The World Cup qualifications for 2018 finished in the first round. In the away leg, Nepal was defeated 2-0 by India. A goalless draw at home against its southern neighbour was insufficient to advance Nepal to the second round.

Nepal advanced straight to the second round of the current FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Qatar due to its increase in the AFC ranking.

Nepal was placed in Group B, which included Asian heavyweights Australia, Kuwait, Jordan, and Chinese Taipei.

The second-round qualifications took almost 30 months to complete because of the COVID-19 epidemic. Nepal's home matches had to be played on neutral sites in Bhutan and Kuwait. Nepal concluded the 2022 qualifiers with two victories and six losses.

Both wins were against Chinese Taipei. Anjan Bista scored twice in the first leg's 2-0 win and partnered with Nawayug Shrestha to score twice in the second leg's 2-0 win against Taipei. Nepal surrendered 22 goals in the remaining six matches, losing badly to Australia, Jordan, and Kuwait.

Nepal's participation in the 23rd edition qualifications has already been announced. 

FIFA has increased the number of World Cup places available for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The rapid growth of Nepali football to the point where our national team might play in the World Cup finals remains a faraway dream. 

We may, however, hope that football officials develop a long-term strategy to ensure Nepali football's growth.